The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for processing a medical image to display a plurality of sectional images of the user""s desired object for diagnosis.
In recent years, computer tomography (CT) by X rays is widely used. A plurality of tomographic images are taken by the computer tomography and three-dimensional images are obtained based on the plurality of tomographic images. A slice of an earliest CT image is thick and it takes a long time to take a large number of tomographic images. Accordingly, two-dimensional tomographic image is only used. However, recently, a large number of tomographic images are easily obtained for a short time and the three-dimensional image is also used.
As shown in Japanese Patent Disclosures (Kokai) PH5-233824 and PH7-334702, in a medical image processing apparatus for displaying sectional information of voxel data (a small cube), a technique to obtain a plurality of arbitrary sectional images or a technique to indicate a sectional position of fixed posture such as a cross section, an arrow section, or a coronary section by one point in order to display these sections is disclosed. However, in the former, while the plurality of arbitrary sectional images are obtained, a position and a posture of these sectional images are not memorized and the user""s desired image is not obtained. In the latter, while the sectional position of fixed posture such as the cross section, the arrow section, or the coronary section is indicated by one point, these sectional positions are not memorized and the user""s desired image is not displayed.
Furthermore, in this known apparatus, in case of adjusting the posture of a plurality of sections, a position and a posture must be adjusted for each section. Accordingly, it takes a long time for the user to adjust the position and the posture of all sections. For example, in the medical field of one application area of the present invention, a plurality of sectional positions used for diagnosis are almost determined in a living body and a positional relation among the plurality of sectional positions is fixed. Nevertheless, in the above-mentioned apparatus, in order to adjust the position and the posture of the plurality of sections, adjustment of one time is respectively necessary for each section. In short, adjustments of plural times are necessary for the plurality of sections. In addition to this, a memory to store the plurality of sectional positions is not prepared. Accordingly, in order to adjust the sectional position and posture for the purpose, a large scale of adjustment is required for the user from an initial position of each section. In short, these operations are very troublesome for the user.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method for processing a medical image to arbitrarily adjust a position and a posture of a plurality of sections in order to display the user""s desired sectional images.
According to the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for processing a medical image, comprising: a three-dimensional data acquisition unit configured to acquire three-dimensional data of a plurality of objects for diagnosis of a living body; a three-dimensional data memory configured to store the three-dimensional data of each of the plurality of objects for diagnosis; a sectional position memory configured to store a plurality of sectional positions for each of the plurality of objects for diagnosis; a selector configured to select one of the plurality of objects for diagnosis; and an image generation unit configured to generate a plurality of sectional images, each image being along a different sectional position, using the three-dimensional data corresponding to the one of the plurality of objects for diagnosis.
Further in accordance with the present invention, there is also provided a method for processing a medical image, comprising the steps of: acquiring three-dimensional data of a plurality of objects for diagnosis of a living body; storing the three-dimensional data of each of the plurality of objects for diagnosis; storing a plurality of sectional positions for each of the plurality of objects for diagnosis; selecting one of the plurality of objects for diagnosis; and generating a plurality of sectional images, each image being along a different sectional position, using the three-dimensional data corresponding to the one of the plurality of objects for diagnosis.
Further in accordance with the present invention, there is also provided a computer-readable memory containing computer-readable instructions to process a medical image, comprising: an instruction unit for causing a computer to acquire three-dimensional data of a plurality of objects for diagnosis of a living body; an instruction unit for causing a computer to store the three-dimensional data of each of the plurality of objects for diagnosis; an instruction unit for causing a computer to store a plurality of sectional positions for each of the plurality of objects for diagnosis; an instruction unit for causing a computer to select one of the plurality of objects for diagnosis; and an instruction unit for causing a computer to generate a plurality of sectional images, each image being along a different sectional position, using the three-dimensional data corresponding to the one of the plurality of objects for diagnosis.